Laryngoscope blade

ABSTRACT

A laryngoscope blade comprising a blade portion, a base portion and an optic light pipe, the blade portion including a proximal end and a distal end provided with an optic window, the base portion including two base halves mounted to each other and to the proximal end of the blade portion, one of the base halves providing a resilient cantilever latch pin and the other of the base halves providing a rigid hook, the light pipe including a proximal end mounted between the two base halves and a distal end extending through the optic window.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a laryngoscope blade and moreparticularly relates to a disposable laryngoscope blade particularlyuseful with laryngoscope handles commonly referred to as FiberIlluminated System or Green System Handles. More particularly, thisinvention relates to a disposable laryngoscope blade of a reduced numberof component parts with attendant reduced assembly and manufacturingcosts.

Laryngoscope blades are known to the art for examining and visualizing apatient's upper airway and for aiding in placement of an endotrachealtube during intubations. For example, an endotracheal tube is insertedinto a patient's trachea to supply oxygen to the patient during asurgical procedure. Generally, a patient's trachea, or wind pipe, iscovered by the tongue and the epiglottis which is attached to the baseof the tongue at the back of the patient's mouth. For access to thetrachea and insertion of the endotracheal tube, the tongue andepiglottis must be lifted to expose the trachea for endotracheal tubeinsertion. The typical laryngoscope used for this procedure includes alaryngoscope blade mounted to a laryngoscope handle. The laryngoscopeblade is inserted under the patient's tongue and upon appropriatemovement of the laryngoscope handle the laryngoscope blade lifts thepatient's tongue and epiglottis exposing the trachea. Further typically,the laryngoscope blade is provided with an inclined slot which mounts toa hinge pin provided at the upper end of the laryngoscope handle andabout which hinge pin the laryngoscope blade pivots to latch into anoperating position at the upper end of the laryngoscope handle. As thelaryngoscope blade pivots into the operating position, and is lockedtherein by suitable detents, the laryngoscope blade engages a switchmember which closes an energization circuit in the laryngoscope handlecausing a light source in the handle to emit light which is transmittedto and through an optic light pipe mounted on the laryngoscope blade toprovide light to the end of the laryngoscope blade and to illuminate apatient's exposed trachea to facilitate visualization and insertion ofthe endotracheal tube into the trachea.

A laryngoscope blade of the type noted above is disclosed in the U.S.Pat. No. 7,128,710 B1, patented Oct. 31, 2006, entitled DISPOSABLELARYNGOSCOPE BLADES, George D. Cranton, et al., inventors; this patentis hereby incorporated herein by reference as if fully reproducedherein. The disclosed laryngoscope blade, as will be noted from FIGS.1-3 of this patent includes nine separate parts, namely, the blade 26,the heel portion 28, the light rod 34, ball poppets 46, 48 and 42 eachof which poppet includes a ball and a springs for a total of the ninecomponent parts. These component parts, particularly the poppetsincluding the balls and springs, require considerable manual laborassembly with attendant unwanted assembly costs and expense.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a new and improvedlaryngoscope blade.

Further, there is a need in the art for a laryngoscope blade of areduced number of parts and with attendant reduced assemblymanufacturing costs which permit the blade to be made and sold at aprice attractive and reasonable for a single use or disposable blade.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the present invention to satisfy the foregoing needsin the laryngoscope blade art.

A laryngoscope blade satisfying such need and embodying the presentinvention may include a laryngoscope blade comprising a blade portion, abase portion and an optic light pipe, the blade portion including aproximal end and a distal end provided with an optic window, the baseportion including two base halves mounted to each other and to theproximal end of the blade portion, one of the base halves providing aresilient cantilever latch pin and the other of the base halvesproviding a rigid hook, the light pipe including a proximal end mountedbetween the two base halves and a distal end extending through the opticwindow.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a laryngoscope blade embodying the present invention forremovable mounting to a laryngoscope handle;

FIG. 1A is a top view of the laryngoscope handle of FIG. 1;

FIG. 1B is a diagrammatical illustration of the upper end of thelaryngoscope handle of FIG. 1, with portions being broken away, toillustrate opposed locking slots or detents to assist in locking thelaryngoscope blade into the operating or on position at the upper end ofthe laryngoscope handle;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the laryngoscope blade of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is a separate view of the optic light pipe shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view of the outside surface of one base half comprising thebase portion of the laryngoscope blade of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a view of the left edge of the base half of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the inner surface of the base half of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view taken from FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view taken from FIG. 7;

FIG. 8 is a view of the outer surface of the other base half comprisingthe base portion of the laryngoscope blade of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a view of the inner surface of the base half shown of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view taken from FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a separate view of the laryngoscope blade shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a rear view of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a separate view of the blade portion of the laryngoscopeblade of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a rear perspective view of the blade portion shown in FIG.13;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view taken from FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a view illustrating the force or load on the laryngoscopeblade of the present invention during the lifting of a person's tongueand epiglottis;

FIG. 16 A is an enlarged view of the encircled portion of FIG. 16;

FIG. 17 is a side view of the upper portion of the laryngoscope handlewith portions broken away to show the diameter of the hinge pin;

FIG. 18 is the base half of FIG. 8 reproduced to show the width of theinclined slot provided by the resilient cantilever latch pin; and

FIG. 19 is the base half of FIG. 3 reproduced to show the width of theinclined slot provided by the rigid hook.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

An embodiment of the laryngoscope blade of the present invention isshown in FIG. 1 and indicated by general numerical designation 10, andas indicated by the irregular line 11, is for being mounted removably tothe laryngoscope handle indicated by general numerical designation 12 inFIG. 1. The laryngoscope blade 10 includes a blade portion indicated bygeneral numerical designation 14, a base portion indicted by generalnumerical designation 16 and an optic light pipe 18. The laryngoscopehandle 12 may be any suitable laryngoscope handle known to the art andmay be, for example, a laryngoscope handle of the type commonly referredto as Fiber Illuminated System or Green System Handles and, by way offurther example, may be the laryngoscope handle available from VitalSigns, Inc., 20 Campus Road, Totowa, N.J., and sold under the trademarkGreenlight II. Solely for purposes of illustration of the use of thelaryngoscope blade 10 of the present invention, it will be assumed thatthe laryngoscope handle 12 of FIG. 1 is the Greenlight II laryngoscopehandle, model number 4558GSP, available from Vital Signs, Inc.Accordingly, it will be understood that the laryngoscope handle 12includes an upper end 12A including a hinge pin 12B and a depressiblecylindrical switch element 12C, note FIG. 1A. Referring further to FIG.1, the laryngoscope blade 10 is mounted removably, as described indetail below, to the handle 12 by hooking or latching the laryngoscopeblade base 16 to the hinge pin 12 which is received within the inclinedopening 17 provided in the base 16. Upon the hinge pin 12B beingreceived within the inclined opening 17 the laryngoscope blade 10 ispivoted into engagement with the upper end 12A of the laryngoscopehandle 12 and locked into the operating or on position by engagement ofthe resilient ball detent 23 provided on the base portion 16 with thelocking slot or detent 12F (FIG. 1B) provided at the upper end 12A ofthe handle 12. Generally, as the laryngoscope blade 10 is pivoted aboutthe hinge pin 12B into the operating position, the base 16 of thelaryngoscope blade 10 engages and depresses the circular depressibleswitch element 12C which then closes an energization circuit (not shown)in the handle 12 to illuminate a light source (not shown) in the handlewhich emits light which is transmitted through the circular switchelement 12C and to and through the optic light pipe 18 to the distal end19 of the laryngoscope blade to illuminate the opening to a patient'strachea.

Referring further generally to the laryngoscope blade 10 shown in FIGS.1 and 2, the blade portion 14 is made or formed from a suitable blank of304 stainless steel using progressive dies of the type known to the artfor stainless steel forming. The base portion 16, FIG. 1, is comprisedof two base halves as shown in FIG. 2, one base half is indicated bygeneral numerical designation 20 and the other base half is indicated bygeneral numerical designation 30. The base halves are made ofultrasonically weldable material and are ultrasonically welded togetherby suitable ultrasonic welding apparatus to mount the base halves toeach other and to the proximal end 15, FIG. 1, of the blade portion 14.Further generally, it will be understood that in accordance to thepresent invention, the base half 20 is made of a more rigid materialthan the material of which the base half 30 is made and conversely, thatthe base half 30 is made of a more resilient material than the materialof which the base half 20 is made. In the preferred embodiment, the basehalf 20 was made of relatively rigid glass-filled or glass reinforcednylon and the base half 30 was made of relatively resilientun-reinforced nylon; these materials are known ultrasonically weldablematerials.

Referring to FIGS. 3-7, and to the detailed structure of the base half20, the base half 20, made of such glass-filled nylon, includes a rigidhook 21 providing an inclined opening 22, a cantilever ball detent 23surrounded by a generally U-shaped opening 24 extending through the basehalf 20, and a curved optic cover 25. Referring to FIG. 5, and to theinner surface of the base half 20, the base half 20 is provided withinwardly extending alignment sockets 27 a and 27 b, inwardly extendingtang sockets 28 a and 28 b, inwardly extending weld sockets 29 a and 29b and an inwardly extending contoured optic channel 20 a.

Referring to the detailed structure of the base half 30, and to FIGS.8-10, the base half 30, made of such un-reinforced nylon, includes aresilient cantilever latch pin 31 providing an inclined opening 32 and,as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the inner surface of the base half 30 isprovided with a pair of outwardly extending alignment and weld pins 33 aand 33 b, outwardly extending weld ribs 34 a and 34 b and an outwardlyextending member 36 providing an inwardly extending semi-circularstraight optic channel 38.

The blade portion 14 of the laryngoscope blade 10 is shown in detail inFIGS. 12-15 with FIG. 11 being the same showing of the laryngoscopeblade 10 of the present invention shown at the top of FIG. 1 but shownagain for convenience of reference. Referring specifically to FIGS.12-15, the metal blade portion 14 includes a medial wall 40 in which anoptic window 41 is formed and in which a pair of blade portionattachment thru holes 42 a and 42 b are formed. The proximal end 15 ofthe metal blade portion 14 is provided with a pair of perpendicularly,outwardly extending mode distribution and mounting tangs 43 a and 43 b.As best shown in FIG. 15, the metal blade portion 14 includes a flange44 extending outwardly perpendicularly from the medial portion 40 andwhich provides the distal end 19 of the laryngoscope blade 10 and which,as will be understood from FIG. 15, provides a tongue engagement surface45 which provides the distal end 19 of the laryngoscope blade 10 ofFIG. 1. It will be further understood from FIG. 15, that the distalportion of the flange 44 is spoon-shaped to reduce the possibility oftrauma to the patient's oral cavity from the intubation process upon thelaryngoscope blade 10 of the present invention being utilized to insertan endotracheal tube into a patient's trachea.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the optic light pipe 18 includes a contouredproximal portion 50 which includes a straight proximal end portion 52and a curved distally adjacent portion 54. The contoured optic channel20 a, FIG. 5, formed in the base half 20 is complimentary in shape toand for receiving the outer side, as viewed in FIG. 2, of the contouredproximal end portion 50 of the optic light pipe 18. Similarly, thestraight optic channel 38, FIG. 10, of the base at 30, is complimentaryin shape to and for receiving the inner side, as viewed in FIG. 2, ofthe straight proximal end section 52 of the optic light pipe 18.

In assembly, and prior to ultrasonic welding, and referring primarily toFIG. 2, the outer side of the contoured proximal portion 50 (FIG. 2A) ofthe light pipe 18 is inserted into the contoured optic channel 20 a(FIG. 5) of the base half 20, the distal end 55 of the optic light pipe18 is inserted through the optic window 41 formed in the blade portion14 and the tangs 43 a and 43 b of the blade portion 14 are inserted intothe tang sockets 28 a and 28 b (FIG. 5) provided in the base half 20,the alignment and ultrasonic weld pins 33 a and 33 b provided on thebase half 30 are inserted through the thru holes 42 a and 42 b formed inthe proximal end 15 of the blade portion 15 and into the weld sockets 27a and 27 b (FIG. 5) formed in the base half 30, and the weld ribs 34 aand 34 b formed on the base half 30 are inserted on to the weld sockets29 a and 29 b (FIG. 5) formed in the base half 20. In this process theinner half, as viewed in FIG. 2, of the straight distal end 52 (FIG. 2A)of the optic light pipe 18 is received in the straight optic channel 38formed in the base half 30. Thereafter, the base halves 20 and 30 areultrasonically welded to each other thereby mounting the base half toeach other and to the distal end 15 of the metal blade portion 14 whichis captured between the ultrasonically welded base halves. Insertion ofthe alignment and weld pins 33 a and 33 b formed on the base half 30into the weld sockets 27 a and 27 b formed in the base half 20, and theinsertion of the weld ribs 34 a and 34 b formed on the base half 30 intothe weld sockets 29 a and 29 b formed in the base half 20, align thebase halves and the distal end of the blade portion 14 with respect toeach other and facilitate ultrasonic welding together of the basehalves.

From FIGS. 1, 2 and 11, it will be understood that the curved opticcover 25 of the base half 20 covers the proximal end of the optic lightpipe 18 on three sides, the outer three sides as viewed in FIG. 2, andthat the medial wall 40 of the blade portion 14 covers the fourth orinner side, as viewed in FIG. 2, of the proximal end of the optic lightpipe and hence upon light being transmitted through the optic light pipe18 to its distal end 55 to illuminate a patient's trachea, the coverageof the distal end of the optic light pipe 18 by the optic cover 25 andthe medial wall 40 of the blade portion prevents light from entering,and possibly at least partially blinding, the eyes of the laryngoscopeblade 10 user during the patient intubation process.

Referring again to FIG. 1 and to the removable mounting of thelaryngoscope blade 10 to the upper end 12 a of the laryngoscope handle12, it will be understood that it is the resilient cantilever latch pin31, FIGS. 8-10, that wedgedly engages and removably mounts thelaryngoscope blade 10 to the hinge pin 12 b and thereby to thelaryngoscope handle 12 while still permitting pivoting movementtherebetween, and that it is the rigid hook 21, FIGS. 3-7, of the basehalf 20 that loosely engages the hinge pin 12 b and withstands the loador force applied to the laryngoscope blade 10 when it engages and liftsup the tongue and epiglottis of a patient to expose the patient'strachea for intubation More particularly, and referring to FIGS. 17-19,the diameter of the hinge pin 12B at the upper end of the handle 12(FIG. 17) is 4.5 mm, and in the preferred embodiment for the resilientcantilever latch pin 31 (FIG. 18) to wedgedly and removably mount thelaryngoscope blade 10 to the handle 12, the width W1 of the inclinedslot 32 provided by the resilient cantilever latch pin 31 is 4.0 mm, 0.5mm smaller that the diameter of the hinge pin 12B, and as shown in FIG.19, the width W2 of the inclined slot 22 provided by the rigid hook 21is 4.7 mm, 0.2 mm larger than the diameter of the hinge pin 12B, whichdifference causes the rigid hook 21 to loosely engage the hinge pin 12Bso as not to inhibit pivoting movement between the blade 10 and handle12 and yet permit the rigid hook 21 to engage the hinge pin 12B andwithstand the force and load noted above. With further regard to theabove-noted load and force exerted on the laryngoscope blade 10 duringuse, this loading and force is illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 16A. Forinsertion of an endotracheal tube (not shown) into the trachea of thepatient, the laryngoscope blade 10 (FIG. 16) is inserted under thepatient's tongue with the distal end 19 engaging the angled area atwhich the epiglottis is formed at the back of the tongue, and upon thelaryngoscope user, such as a physician, rotating the laryngoscope handle12 in the direction indicated by the curved arrow 60, the laryngoscopeblade 10 lifts the tongue and epiglottis of the patient to expose thetrachea for the intubation process. In this tongue and epiglottislifting procedure, the tongue exerts a force, a reaction force, F1 onthe laryngoscope blade 10 and a force, a reaction force F2 (better seenin FIG. 16A) is applied to the base 16 of the laryngoscope blade 10. Itwill be understood that it is the rigid hook 21 formed on the base half20 that withstands the forces F1 and F2 and withstands the load appliedto the laryngoscope blade 10 by such forces.

It will be understood that the foregoing description of the preferredembodiment of the present invention is merely illustrative thereof andthat many variations and modifications may be made in the presentinvention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

1. A laryngoscope blade comprising a blade portion, a base portion andan optic light pipe, said blade portion including a proximal end and adistal end provided with an optic window, said base portion includingtwo base halves mounted to each other and to said proximal end of saidblade portion, one of said base halves providing a resilient cantileverlatch pin and the other of said base halves providing a rigid hook, andsaid light pipe including a proximal end mounted between said two basehalves and a distal end extending through said optic window.
 2. Thelaryngoscope blade according to claim 1 wherein said other base half isprovided with a cantilever ball detent.
 3. The laryngoscope bladeaccording to claim 1 wherein said one base half is made of a materialthat is more rigid than the material of which said other base half ismade.
 4. The laryngoscope blade according to claim 1 wherein said basehalves are made of ultrasonically weldable material and wherein saidbase halves are ultrasonically welded together.
 5. The laryngoscopeblade according to claim 4 wherein said one base half is made ofun-reinforced nylon and wherein said other base half is made ofglass-filled nylon.
 6. The laryngoscope blade according to claim 4wherein said one base half includes an inner surface provided with aplurality of outwardly extending weld pins, wherein said proximal end ofsaid blade portion is provided with a plurality of thru holes, whereinsaid other base half includes an inner surface provided with a pluralityof inwardly extending alignment sockets and wherein said plurality ofoutward extending alignment pins extend through said plurality of thruholes and into said plurality of alignment sockets to align said basehalves and said proximal end of said blade portion with respect to eachother.
 7. The laryngoscope blade according to claim 4 wherein said innersurface of said one base half is provided with a plurality of outwardlyextending weld ribs, wherein said inner surface of said other base halfis provided with a plurality of inwardly extending weld cavities andwherein said outwardly extending weld ribs are inserted into saidinwardly extending weld cavities to enhance the ultrasonic welding ofsaid base halves.
 8. The laryngoscope blade according to claim 6 whereinsaid proximal end of said blade portion is provided with a plurality ofoutwardly extending tangs, wherein said inner surface of said other basehalf is provided with a plurality of inwardly extending alignmentsockets for receiving said plurality of outwardly extending tangs tofurther align said proximal end of said blade portion with said otherbase half.
 9. The laryngoscope blade according to claim 8 wherein saidproximal end of said light pipe is a contoured proximal end including astraight proximal end portion and a curved distally adjacent portion,wherein said inner surface of said one half is provided with anoutwardly extending member providing a semicircular inwardly extendingstraight optical channel for receiving pone side of said straightproximal end of said optic light pipe and wherein said outer surface ofsaid other base half is provided with an inwardly extending contouredoptical channel for receiving the other side of said straight proximalend portion and one side of said curved distally adjacent portion ofsaid contoured portion of the proximal end of said optic light pipe. 10.The laryngoscope blade according to claim 9 wherein said outer surfaceof said other base half is provided with an outwardly extending curvedoptic cover for covering a portion of said proximal end of said opticlight pipe.
 11. The laryngoscope blade according to claim 1 wherein saiddistal end of said blade portion includes a spoon-shaped tip.
 12. Alaryngoscope blade for lifting the tongue and epiglottis of a person andfor being mounted removably to the upper end of a laryngoscope handleincluding a hinge pin and an inwardly extending locking slot, saidlaryngoscope blade comprising: a blade portion including a proximal endand a distal end provided with an optic window; a base portion includinga first base half and a second base half mounted to each other in tosaid proximal end of said blade portion, said first half being of amaterial sufficiently resilient to provide a resilient cantilever latchpin for wedgedly and removably engaging the hinge pin and for permittingpivoting between said laryngoscope blade and the laryngoscope handle,said second base half being of a sufficiently rigid material to providea rigid hook for loosely engaging said hinge pin and for withstandingload exerted on said laryngoscope blade during the lifting of theperson's tongue and epiglottis, and said second base half provided witha cantilever ball detent for wedgedly engaging the locking slot to locksaid laryngoscope blade to the upper end of the laryngoscope handle; andan optic light pipe including a proximal end mounted between said firstand said second half of said base portion and further including a distalend extending through said optic window.
 13. A laryngoscope blade forbeing mounted removably to the upper end of a laryngoscope handleincluding a hinge pin and an inwardly extending locking slot, saidlaryngoscope blade for being mounted to and pivoting around the hingepin and into engagement with a depressible member provided at the upperend of the laryngoscope handle to close an energization circuit for alight source which emits light, said laryngoscope blade having forceapplied thereto upon pivoting of the laryngoscope handle to lift thetongue and epiglottis of a person to expose the person's trachea forinsertion of an endotracheal tube, said laryngoscope blade comprising: ablade portion including a proximal end and a distal end provided with anoptic window, a base portion including a first base half and a secondbase half mounted to each other and to said proximal end of said bladeportion, said first blade half being of a resilient material to providea resilient cantilever latch pin for wedgedly engaging the hinge pin tomount said laryngoscope blade removably and pivotably to the hinge pin,said second base half being of a sufficiently rigid material to providea rigid hook providing an inclined slot for receiving and looselyengaging the hinge pin, said rigid hook for withstanding the forceapplied to said laryngoscope blade upon lifting a person's tongue andepiglottis, said second base half providing a cantilever ball detent forwedgedly engaging the locking slot to latch said laryngoscope blade inthe on position at the upper end of the laryngoscope handle; and anoptic light pipe including a proximal end mounted between said firstbase half and said second base half and a distal end extending throughsaid optic window.